PBS高端访谈:感染率下降 艾滋病大会前夕形势乐观

 　　JEFFREY BROWN:Next, two takes on AIDS today here and around the world.

　　We begin with a global progress report more than three decades after the first cases were reported.

　　Gwen Ifill has that.

　　GWEN IFILL:When researchers, political leaders and advocates gather in Washington next week for the world's largest AIDS meeting, there will be something new on the agenda: optimism.

　　AIDS deaths have declined. The rate of new infections among children is falling, and more than eight million people in poor and middle-income countries are receiving crucial lifesaving drugs.

　　But the global picture remains¹ grim. Worldwide, more than 34 million people have HIV, 23 million of them in sub-Saharan Africa. Last year, 1.7 million people died from the disease. And millions still can't get the drugs they need.

　　Michel Sidibe is the director of UNAIDS, which just issued the latest report on all this. And he joins me now.

　　Thank you for joining us.

　　MICHEL SIDIBE, UNAIDS:Thank you very much.

　　GWEN IFILL:The new numbers, do they show that we're turning the tide in this crisis?

　　MICHEL SIDIBE:You know, I think we are breaking the backbone² of this epidemic³.

　　It is the first time that we can say that we have 56 countries worldwide who have stabilized⁴, even reduced significantly the number of new infection. We are seeing also a prevention revolution working. Young people are taking the responsibility, changing their behavior.

　　And we're seeing a reduction by almost 25 percent amongst those young people, even 50 percent in a country like South Africa, which is just showing that we are going to win if we remain committed to the mobilization of the resources to find this epidemic.

　　GWEN IFILL:What do we think is behind this? Is it a change, as you said, in behavior, young people realizing or others realizing what they should and shouldn't do? Or is it access to medication, access to care?

　　MICHEL SIDIBE:I think it's many factors.

　　First of all, let me say that the compassion⁵ and the mobilization of American taxpayers⁶ have been producing results. You have been able to put resources out there when people were not thinking at all that we could even put people on treatment. Ten years ago, it was $15,000 per person per year.

　　But because you believed that we need to save lives and you did it, today, we're seeing the result. But, also, we are seeing President Obama's full commitment to make sure that we can come with a new narrative⁷, which is about sharing responsibility, making sure that we sustain our gain, and that is also starting to pay off.

　　GWEN IFILL:But that's what the U.S. is doing to help. What about what these nations, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, are willing to do for themselves? Ten years ago, Thabo Mbeki from South Africa wouldn't even admit that the HIV virus caused AIDS. Is that changing?

　　MICHEL SIDIBE:That changed.

　　I think UNAIDS is trying to work with African countries. Today, we can say that we have almost 33 countries in Africa, 33 countries, who have been able to increase their domestic investment by 50 percent during the last five years. South Africa is a very good example, just last year put $2 billion to fight HIV in South Africa.

　　We would have never believed that one. And, today, we are seeing that happening also in emerging nations. We have been working with China, India, Brazil, Russia. All of those countries today, instead of waiting for resources coming from Global Fund, are paying for their AIDS response. This is the change.

　　GWEN IFILL:But let me ask you a little bit more about something other than money, which is this question.

　　For a long time, there was a stigma⁸ against the people who disproportionately suffer from HIV, which is to say drug abusers and homosexuals and prostitutes and people who no self-respecting African leader wanted to stand on a stage with. Has that changed?

　　MICHEL SIDIBE:I think what is very frustrating⁹ me is not just in Africa. In Russia, in Central Asia, in different parts of the world, we are seeing, unfortunately, that universal access for the most at-risk population, the men who are having sex with men, people who inject the drugs or a sex worker, are denied from their access to services.

　　They have to hide themselves. They have to go underground, and which is not helping¹⁰ us. You can imagine, for example, in the last 10 years, we had almost 250 percent increase on new infection in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

　　GWEN IFILL:And have costs dropped also? When you say access and you say that many countries have stepped up and helped with this, has it become less expensive now to get that care?

　　MICHEL SIDIBE:Yes.

　　Ten years ago, like I was saying, we're talking about almost $15,000 per person per year. Today, we are talking about less than $100 per person per year. And that changed completely the dynamic of the response. Today, we are having eight million people on treatment because we have been able also to create this (INAUDIBLE) which helps us to deal with trade issues, but also to deal with services, because of providing services.

　　GWEN IFILL:As the head of UNAIDS, you can look back at what's happened in the last 10 years. Look forward for a moment to what should be happening, what you would like to see occur in the next 10 years.

　　MICHEL SIDIBE:I think, for me, it's very clear. It's a vision of three zero. Zero new infections, zero death due to HIV, and zero discrimination. Because, when we discriminate¹¹, it's our decision to discriminate.

　　You know, I personally believe that this zero-zero is about social justice. It's about redistribution of opportunities. It's about making sure that what we are building is inclusive. And I believe that is the only way we can have stability in many parts of the world. And it can be an answer, Gwen, for really reforming the global health response.

　　GWEN IFILL:Michel Sidibe, executive director of UNAIDS, thank you so much for joining us.

　　MICHEL SIDIBE:Thank you very much. It was a pleasure.

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 backbone   

n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气

参考例句：

• The Chinese people have backbone.中国人民有骨气。
• The backbone is an articulate structure.脊椎骨是一种关节相连的结构。

3 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

4 stabilized   

v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The patient's condition stabilized. 患者的病情稳定下来。
• His blood pressure has stabilized. 他的血压已经稳定下来了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

6 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

7 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

8 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

9 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

11 discriminate   

v.区别，辨别，区分；有区别地对待

参考例句：

• You must learn to discriminate between facts and opinions.你必须学会把事实和看法区分出来。
• They can discriminate hundreds of colours.他们能分辨上百种颜色。